Adventures at 7-Eleven and beyond
We planned to visit Osaka over the long weekend, but we ended up rescheduling due to the typhoon. Our prefecture received a good amount of rain — nothing too crazy, and it cleared up by the weekend — but train services were limited and the weather at our destination was not great for sightseeing.
We decided to stay closer to home, and ended up seeing one of the top baseball teams in Japan: the Hiroshima Carp. I was also excited to see what kind of cool fishy mascot they had, but apparently they have two mascots and neither on is a carp??
Getting the tickets was actually an adventure in itself, because they cannot be purchased online… but they can be purchased at 7-Eleven!
I went into one of the nineteen(!) 7-Elevens in our town with instructions to find a “copier-looking machine”. Sure enough, in the corner by the smoothie machine (*more on this below) and the coffee machine and the ATM, I discovered a copier/printer.
I selected English on the touchscreen, and it showed 2 options: copy or print. So I asked the store clerk (using my translator app) if I was using the right machine. He said “yes, copier”.
I looked above the copier and noticed flyers for other events, so it seemed like this was the place to get all kinds of tickets.
Again, I selected English on the screen, but I still only saw the copy or print options.
Then I selected Japanese (日本語) and discovered a whole panel of options. Unfortunately my language skills still pretty minimal so I had to translate each screen individually. (I also had to input written answers in katakana characters 😬): Tickets > type of event > specific sport > league > team > date > number of adults/kids > names
Finally I received a slip of paper that I brought to the counter, where I paid the clerk (only $80 for 9 tickets!) and received my baseball tickets.
*The kids recently figured out the smoothie machine too — You buy the smoothie you want (it comes in a plastic cup with all of the ingredients inside). Then you bring it to the machine and scan the barcode on top. You remove the cover and put the cup inside and then the machine adds the right amount of liquid and blends it up! Delicious!
Once we had our baseball tickets, we headed up to Hiroshima (our first time actually driving on the expressway) and met our friends at the game.
There were many similarities to a MLB game: lots of traffic, lots of fan gear, and lots of chants guided by the jumbo-tron. But of course there were differences too…
An entire parking garage for bikes (which was full), a ton of interesting foods, and the signature quietness we have come to expect from Japan, even in the busiest of places.
We enjoyed Kobe beef on a stick, chicken wrapped in seaweed, yakisoba noodles, and of course ice cream!
Aside from spending way too much on parking, and getting home way too late, I'd say our first Japanese baseball game was a success!
Hope you enjoyed a nice long weekend as well!
We went to a baseball game this weekend too!
Love this!